Genetic information of living organisms (e.g., animals, plants, microorganisms, viruses) is encoded in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA). Genetic information is a succession of nucleotides or modified nucleotides representing the primary structure of nucleic acids. The nucleic acid content (e.g., DNA) of an organism is often referred to as a genome. In humans, the complete genome typically contains about 30,000 genes located on twenty-four (24) chromosomes. Most gene encodes a specific protein, which after expression via transcription and translation fulfills a specific biochemical function within a living cell.
Many medical conditions are caused by one or more genetic variations within a genome. Some genetic variations may predispose an individual to, or cause, any of a number of diseases such as, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, obesity, various autoimmune diseases and cancer (e.g., colorectal, breast, ovarian, lung), for example. Such genetic diseases can result from an addition, substitution, insertion or deletion of one or more nucleotides within a genome.
Genetic variations can be identified by multiplex analysis of mixtures of nucleic acids often obtained from multiple sources, for example by use of next generation sequencing techniques. Such multiplex analysis often involves a significant amount of manipulation of nucleic acids prior to analysis involving many different steps that are not conducive to high-throughput processing. In addition, current methods of nucleic acid manipulation are often costly, time consuming and often present substantial pitfalls that can lead to contamination of samples. Compositions and methods herein offer significant improvements over current nucleic acid manipulation and analysis techniques that are more conducive to high-throughput automation, more cost efficient, less time consuming and/or provide for less risk of contamination.